WASHINGTON – The US embassy in Moscow on Sunday urged its citizens in Russia to leave the country “immediately” while flights are available given that numerous countries have closed their airspace to Russian airlines in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine .
The embassy published this message on its website “before the increasing number of airlines that are canceling flights to and from Russia, and given that many countries have closed their airspace to Russian airlines ”.
“U.S. citizens should consider leaving Russia immediately through the commercial options still available”, added the note.
Likewise, the embassy warned that there are “multiple reports” that non-Russian credit and debit cards are being “declined”, something that “seems to be related” to the harsh economic sanctions announced this Saturday by the US, the UK and European partners against Moscow.
Among them are the exclusion of certain Russian banks from the SWIFT international financial system and the restrictions on the international operations of the Central Bank of Russia.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, proposed this Sunday to prohibit the landing, takeoff or passage of any Russian plane in the airspace of the European Union (EU), and other countries such as Canada have taken similar measures.
At the end of January, the US State Department placed Russia in the category “ do not travel” at the end of January in the face of growing tensions with Moscow due to its military concentration around the Ukrainian border and that has bite in the attack on his neighbor to the south.